Safeway pulls caramel apples off shelves as listeria cases grow

Tuesday

Dec 23, 2014 at 11:20 AM

Federal health officials still have named no stores, brands or manufacturers connected with a growing outbreak of listeria in prepackaged caramel apples linked to five deaths and more than two dozen illnesses in 10 states.

Federal health officials still have named no stores, brands or manufacturers connected with a growing outbreak of listeria in prepackaged caramel apples linked to five deaths and more than two dozen illnesses in 10 states.

But officials with the Safeway grocery chain said they’d pulled the treats from store shelves just in case.

As of Monday, 29 people had been sickened and hospitalized, including a new victim in Wisconsin. Of those who died, all were infected with the outbreak strain of listeria, although the pathogen may not have directly caused two of the deaths, health officials said.

The victims included a teenage boy from Thurston County, Wash., who has since recovered, state health officials said.

Seattle food-safety lawyer Bill Marler filed a lawsuit Monday on behalf of the family of an 81-year-old California woman who they say died after eating a caramel apple and contracting listeria.

The complaint filed in Santa Cruz County Superior Court claims that Shirlee Jean Frey, of Felton, Calif., bought the treat at a local Safeway store before Halloween, ate it, and became so ill that she fell and hit her head Nov. 6. She was hospitalized and had surgery. She died Dec. 2 with a listeria infection tied to the outbreak, the complaint says.

Brian Dowling, Safeway’s vice president of public affairs, said in a statement that the store had taken action.

"We are aware of the issue regarding caramel apples and have proactively removed the product from sale in our stores. However, we are currently not aware of any illness tied to items purchased at our stores," the statement said.

The complaint did not identify the brand of caramel apple in question.

"We know the store where it was purchased, but the brand has yet to be determined," Marler said.

Federal food-safety agencies have announced no specific brands and no recalls involved in the outbreak.

Instead, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration continued to urge consumers to avoid all brands of commercially prepared caramel apples, including those coated in plain caramel or with nuts, sprinkles and other toppings.

In Minnesota, where officials reported four illnesses, including two deaths, the victims bought caramel apples from Cub Foods, Kwik Trip and Mike’s Discount Foods, which carried the Carnival and Kitchen Cravings brand caramel apples.

Both of those brands were distributed by H. Brooks of New Brighton, Minn. Phillip Brooks, the firm’s owner, said sales were limited to Minnesota, Wisconsin and, perhaps, Iowa. The products, which were made and sold from the first of October to late November, are no longer available in retail stores.

Brooks said it’s not yet clear what caused the illnesses or whether his products were actually involved.

"Most of the outbreak is in states we don’t serve," he said. "It could be mistaken identity."

He added that he is cooperating fully with federal and state health officials in the investigation.

The outbreak has forced producers of popular caramel-apple products to seek to reassure customers that their treats have not been named in the outbreak. Mrs. Prindable’s, which sells gourmet caramel apples on QVC’s online and television shopping outlets, issued a statement Monday saying that there was an "active investigation of other brands," including those bought in Western states.

"We want to reassure our customers that we have no reason to believe that Mrs. Prindable’s products are not safe," the statement said.

In an update late Monday, CDC officials said that 87 percent of ill people interviewed reported eating caramel apples before becoming ill. Nine of the illnesses involved pregnant women or their newborns, though no miscarriages or stillbirths were reported. Three children ages 5 to 15 developed meningitis after becoming infected.

Health officials identified the outbreak using the CDC’s PulseNet system that detects the genetic fingerprint of a particular pathogen. People reported falling ill between Oct. 17 and Nov. 27. Illnesses reported after Dec. 3 may not be logged because of a lag in reporting time.

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